Field Level Media
Jun 19, 2021
Ha-Seong Kim, who entered the game after National League home run leader Fernando Tatis Jr. departed with a shoulder injury, hit a two-run, two-out homer in the bottom of the eighth Saturday to lead the San Diego Padres to a 7-5 victory over the visiting Cincinnati Reds.
Tommy Pham was on second with his third double of the game when Kim, who was hitting .209, hit a line drive off Reds right-handed reliever Heath Hembree (1-2) just inside the left-field foul pole.
Padres right-hander Nabil Crismatt (2-1) earned the win with three scoreless innings of one-hit relief. Right-hander Mark Melancon picked up his 20th save -- and first since June 4 -- when Kim turned a one-out grounder into a game-ending double play.
The win was the Padres' third straight over the Reds, who arrived in San Diego on a six-game winning streak.
The Reds had tied the game with a three-run fifth that also saw the Padres lose Tatis after the shortstop landed hard on the left shoulder he partially separated earlier in the season. Tatis was hurt while diving for Tyler Naquin's RBI single off Daniel Camarena. Eugenio Suarez then tied the game with a two-run, two-out single off reliever James Norwood.
Cincinnati took an early 2-0 lead with single runs in the first and second on RBI doubles by Jesse Winker and Kyle Farmer against spot starter Miguel Diaz.
The Padres tied the game in the bottom of the third when Jake Cronenworth followed a lead-off single by Tatis with his eighth homer (and second in four games).
The Padres took a 5-2 lead in the bottom of the fourth on Manny Machado's three-run, two-out double off Reds starter Vladimir Gutierrez, who had struck out the first two Padres in the inning. Pham then reached on his second double and Tatis and Cronenworth drew walks before Machado hit a line drive into the left-field corner.
Both sides lost key players early.
Reds first baseman Joey Votto and manager David Bell were ejected in the first by plate umpire Ryan Additon for arguing a checked-swing, third-strike call.
Tatis, 22, leads the National League in homers (22), is tied for second in RBIs (50), and leads in slugging percentage (.675) and OPS (1.039) despite missing 17 games to two trips to the disabled list. He is the early leader at shortstop in the National League All-Star Game voting.
--Field Level Media